Standout Student – Khari Howard

“You know you have practice after school every day, it’s a routine,” Khari said. “Everything has to do with time management.”

But time management pays off.

The 17-year-old senior is in her first year at Brandon Hall, but she already is a star student-athlete at the Sandy Springs school. She was the Most Valuable Player on the Panthers’ volleyball team and is the second leading scorer for the girls’ basketball team.

Khari had not played volleyball before she arrived at Brandon Hall. She took up the game after she was urged to give it a try by her friends and the team’s coach, Melinda Payne.

“She is an athlete and quickly learned the game,” Payne said. “I wish she was not a senior, because we are going to miss her positive influence on the volleyball court.”

Then, for the winter season, Howard picked up basketball for the first time since she was a high school freshman.

“I started playing basketball in elementary school, played through middle school, then stopped playing in ninth grade to focus on school,” she said.

She had learned there is a necessary balance between academics and athletics in order to succeed as a student athlete. And for Khari, school always comes first.

“My schoolwork is what is going to get me a good job,” she said.

Playing sports in college is a possibility, but she is not seriously considering it.

In her spare time, Howard enjoys hanging out with her friends, and she also volunteers as a tennis coach.

A year-round athlete, she plans on playing tennis at Brandon Hall in the spring.